Fresh Tart

Ahhh, home sweet home, baby. As lovely as it is to be away, especially in a place as insanely gorgeous and idyllic as the Hamptons, it is great to be settled at home, too. Here I am, unpacked (yes, I am unpacked, I who loathes major-buzzkill-downer-vacation-is-over-unpacking, I just bit the bullet and did the dirty deed and now I am sooo chill, yeah), sipping an ice-cold Pilsner Urquell, snacking on afreshly-picked tomato (from my pots on the deck, sliced, with a sprinkle of salt), downloading photos, and catching up on my email and (obv) blogging. I'm about to whip up a little pastasomethin-somethin, I think angel hair and (more) tomatoes and perhaps a touch of cream. Arugulasalad with shaved Parm because the arugula looks shockingly decent after a week in the cooler. Basically, total comfort food, quite restorative at the end of a long day of travel. And even though it's only from the east coast, a long day it is - Hampton Jitney to Flushing Queens to cab to LaGuardia to long hang at the airport to flight to MSP to waiting for luggage to no-AC-cab to our house... That's eight-plus hours of travel-time, ack, and I'm ready for a little (healthy) comfort food. Yeah! Vacation is nice, but home is good too.

Hello from East Hampton! We're having a lovely vacation with my in-laws (Dot & John) this week, away from the rain and gloom in Minnesota. The drought is officially over, eh? Sheesh. It was raining here, too, when we arrived (on Tuesday). But the sun peeked through last evening and is shining still (at least this morning), so we're all good, baby. Georgica Beach, here we come!

Grabbing some exercise here is a truly lovely experience - walking the mean streets (ha) of EH. The streets are grand tunnels of dappled tree-lined shade, peaceful and quiet and in full August bloom - basket-ball-sized hydrangeas, hydrangeas everywhere, blue and peaches-n-cream and pale green and pink and purple. Stunning. The houses - well, you could probably guess that in "The Hamptons," the houses do not suck. Variations on a serene, cedar-shingled, white-trimmed theme. Mostly big (real big), some small and cottage-y, all chic beachy. Very Not Minnesota. Fabulous.

We don't do the (famous) party scene here at all. We (happily, quietly) eat in every night, although I don't do any cooking (my father-in-law does!), I just sit back and eat all the beautiful things that are served to me - yeah, it rawks, yay for vacation and a big, BIG woo hoo for foodie in-laws! Some of the best fresh produce in the world - sweet corn, peaches, melons, tomatoes - is grown right here (it is truly rural out here) and it is glorious. Glorious! Little white peaches, three bites each, I could eat those babies all day long. The last bites of summer, I fear. Sigh.

So, I'm off for one of those walks. Gotta move my arse around a bit to earn the right to my evening meals and wine. So far I've enjoyed crab cakes, sweet corn, crispy chicken, brisket, tomato salad... Tonight, a cookout of burgers and Atlantic Golf Club 'dogs. Tomorrow, tenderloin on the grill and more corn, corn, corn. NICE!

I think it takes a drought to fully appreciate a fabulously dark, chilly, rainy weekend like this has been. Oooh, so cozy, truly. I've made brunch twice - TWICE! - for John and me (I hardly ever make brunch). Yesterday I made little pizzas, topped with a bit of bacon, fresh rosemary, fresh tomato, garlic, onion, a drizzle of olive oil, and a sprinkle of mozzarella and freshly ground pepper. Totally hit the spot, next to an over-easy egg (yes!), especially followed by a whole-afternoon's plant in front of the fireplace. My God we were slugs, listening to music and reading all damn day...I'm reading Julia Child's memoir of her food-formative years, My Life in France, which as you might imagine, I'm enjoying immensely. I keep the famous Mastering the Art of French Cooking - her masterpiece cookbook - at my side for cross-referencing as she describes the hilarious and painstaking (!) detail she put into years and years of hard work, translating such French classics as decadent beurre blanc, perfectly roasted chicken, and a true, French baguette, for American cooks.

In fact, Julia inspired today's brunch of pan-sauteed sole filets (her descriptions of sole meuniere would make anyone crave a little buttery fish, rarrr...), finished with a bit of browned lemon-tarragon-butter from the saute pan. Alongside arugula tossed with (more) lemon juice and olive oil, it was lovely. And you know, I was ready for a warm meal after venturing out into the drizzle this morning to cheer my sister Stacey on as she completed a sprint-course triathlon near Lake Phalen. Yay, Stacey! Yeah, nothing like watching someone else work their ass off to work up your own hearty appetite...

Glorious day, eh? Wow, spectacular. What a difference a break in the humidity makes - the air positively sparkles in this late-summer sun. Saucy Suz and her kids, Vivian and Sullivan, came over for a lovely swim today, and we just soaked it all in, knowing - and feeling, for the first time - that September is right around the corner. Sniff.

Tonight, John and I had big plans to go out for Date Night, but after I picked up my LaFinca veggie share, and saw all the lovely possibilities (carrots, new potatoes, baby cabbage, arugula, tomatoes, green beans), I called John and said, Dude, let's eat here! Nothing can beat a fresh vege-ful dinner on our own deck on a night as spectacular as this! So John's happily picking up a couple of killer NY Strips at Byerly's on his way home, and I'm roasting those new potatoes with fresh rosemary, garlic, coarse salt, and oil (400 degrees, for about 45 minutes, turn several times) until they're crispy little bombs, perfect for a dippy-poo in cool, creamy sour cream. Yeah, baby! Chopped arugula salad with lots of shaved Parm and cracked pepper, alongside tomato slices, should finish us off nicely. I'd better get to it, tee hee!

Well, I got to it, and it rawked! Especially with the Cain Five 2003 we sipped with all the tasties, ooooh, Napa Nice. And XM Satellite Radio tuned to the 70s, ha, I love it. We could hardly make a dent in the Cain Five, however, with its high alcohol content, ack. Too early to be drinking it, but we went ahead anyhow (decanted it a couple of times) with at least a bit of it, and it was delicious.

Tomorrow, I gotta come up with some way to use the 10 + cukes I now have in my fridge. Sauteed? Raita? Greek salad? All of the above? Ha. Stay tuned...

Mya-man, mya-man! That's Cooper-speak for Spider-Man, whom thanks to Nathan, Cooper now loves. Stace and Nathan donned expired Halloween costume masks for maximum Spideyness, leaving Cooper alternately excited, confused, and a little scared (as you can see in the pic). Mya-man!

Cooper calls me Ne-uh-nee, totally adorable. For the longest time there was only Mama, Dada, and Nay-nay (Nathan), but now I've proudly joined the mix. YESSSSS!

Once again, I've got a foil packet full of veggies on the grill - it's turned out to be Summer 07's signature vegetable preparation. Tonight the packet is full of summer squash, carrots, dill, and onion. Chopped then drizzled and tossed with olive oil and coarse salt before they're enclosed in foil for a 30-minute pass on the grill (flip half-way through), they turn out lovely every time. And could not be easier, which is the best part of all. Yay for veggies on the grill! Yay for veggies every way!

Here's a good day - Tuesday Morning Coffee with Suz (Kim's in China, lucky girl; we'll snag her next week) and Tuesday Afternoon Hangin' with Nathan (my son, not in a camp this week for the first time this whole summer; he's been BUSY!). It's again been waaaay too long since I could sip and chat with Susie - she was on vaca last week, she's started a new business (or two?), her house is for sale, and well, she's basically crazy-busy. Luckily (for me) she had a showing this morning and so had to vacate her house to come HERE! Woo hoo! I was needing a girlfriend fix, I admit it, I had nothin' last week (except for Stacey, I love and need my Stacey time too). After tossing around a few f-bombs, cackling so loudly we scared the hell out of poor Digby (Suz's dog, who visited too), eating sweets, and drinking quarts of coffee, I was as good as new, ready for the day. Yeah, baby!

So this afternoon, chillin' with Nate. I promised him BLTs for dinner tonight. Who loves them more, Nathan, John, or me? Hmmmm, I'd call it a delicious toss up. I like mine on the healthy side - whole grain bread, very little (if any) mayo, just a touch of bacon, load 'er up on the lettuce and the true star...the T. For me, it's all about the to-ma-toes, perfectly red, garden-ripe, and juicy. Naughty, naughty, those tomatoes, in the best of ways. John and Nathan? For them, it's all about the oink. Hey, I'll admit, cured, crispy pork is a very good thing. But we can have cured pork anytime - in the summer, I'm going for the 'matoes (and berries and peaches and melons and cherries and green beans and sweet corn and lettuces and, and, and...)

Well, John and I ended up going for a drive yesterday, a mini-day trip. We love going for beautiful drives, it's "our" thing, so yesterday we chose to head south, along the gorgeous St. Croix River Valley down to the Lake Pepin area. We drove down Minnesota Hwy 61 and back up Wisconsin Hwy 35, very slick. I looked up and printed out several dining options, in various picturesque towns along the lake - we've eaten at the Harbor View Cafe in Pepin before, which is lovely (I highly recommend it), but we thought we'd try somewhere we could just walk into and sit down. As we drove into Lake City, which has a breathtaking view of Lake Pepin, I noticed a restaurant called The Skyline (not on my list), with a deck perfectly over-looking the lake, so on a whim we swung around and went in. Uh, I should have trusted my gut and hightailed it right back out of there when we saw how grimy the deck was, but there we were, and the view was great, so we took a chance. Big mistake. Yuck, yuck, yuck. Unremarkable, greasy food, filthy bathrooms (that smelled like Raid, not a good sign, shiver...), flies and bees all over our food (and us!), people smoking on both sides of us - basically the whole thing was revolting. We drove away feeling unclean, so I suggested we swing into the first cute coffee shop we saw for a hot cuppa and something sweet. We found the perfect tidy spot on the other side of the lake, in Pepin, and felt so much better afterward (magical, restorative coffee, oh how I love thee!).

As we wound our way home through charming little Wabasha, Pepin, Stockholm, and Maiden Rock, I pointed out some of the quaint little bars and cafes that were on my list of places to eat. John said, "Oh, that's OK, I was really hungry for crappy food in a filthy little place," and OMG did we laugh and laugh and laugh. Not our best drive ever, that's for sure, but hey, it made us mighty glad to be home! And that's always good, right?

Today, it feels soooo decadent to be eating clean, healthy food. For dinner I'm going to season chicken breasts with lots of parsley, mint, garlic, and olive oil and then grill them alongside pita bread rubbed with a bit of olive oil and sprinkled with coarse salt. Paired with a big Greek salad, full of garden-ripe tomatoes, cukes, dill, onion, olives, and feta...we should be so jamming. And with this break in the humidity, we can eat on our own - clean! smokefree! - deck, thank you very much. (We are incredibly lucky that our umbrella and table are both OK after Friday's failed leap-to-freedom over the side of our deck...you're stuck with us for a few more years of grillin' & chillin', sorry dudes...)

Whoa, that was a hell of a gust of wind... That's what both John and I were simultaneously thinking as we shot awake last night, around 3:00 a.m., as lightning flashed almost continuously and sheets of rain slammed the windows. You see, we were both fully aware of - and freaking out about - the umbrella we left open on the deck. Dang. Dang. Dang. We quickly decided we'd close it together and ran out into the kitchen only to find...nothing. No umbrella, no table. Just four lonely chairs sitting eerily in a perfect circle. From the lightning we were able to see the umbrella lying upside-down on the ground underneath the deck. It took a bit more searching to discover the table, also upside-down, dangerously close to the house. It appears the whole thing somersaulted right over the edge of the deck. Man, it could so easily have launched like a missile right through a window. We're idiots. Lucky idiots. Sheesh.

At least we got some rain? And didn't lose power? Sheesh.

After we pick up the mess and truly assess the damage (we're moving a bit slowly today), we'll have to decide how to spend the afternoon. Out for lunch? (We ate at Lucia's last night, delicious as usual.) Pool? (It's hot and muggy and not good for much else.) Movie? (We saw The Bourne Ultimatum yesterday, great fun.) Cook here? (I certainly have a stash of veggies again, plenty to work with.) I think I'm in a bit of a fog after that 3:00 a.m. adrenaline rush (and subsequent hours of trying to fall back asleep). Stay tuned...

Hey! Almost the end of Thursday, thought I'd sneak in a quick post. Fun, fun dinner tonight with Bill & Karla, Joe & Genie, and Stu (The Wine Genius) & Debbie here a the hacienda. Summer casual, as in very, sticking to the menu I outlined yesterday except I baked a Summer Fruit Upside Down Cake instead of atart. Eh, just a whim sort of thing. A marriage of Suz's Quick Cherry Dessert with the fruits I had on hand. With a bit of lightly sweetened whip, gooood stuff. Creamy Polenta (polentaaaaah) was nice too, I could eat the whole pan but since I had to share, you know, with my guests, I reigned myself in. A bit. Ha. (Recipe posted in comments, below.)

On a non-food note (no!)...check out this Plum TV interview of our friend Maud Bryt, regarding her current show of paintings inspired by her childhood summers on Nantucket. Maud is a photographer as well as a painter and many of her photographs of our children - luckily! - fill our home.

After Saturday's Date Day and Monday's Date Night, we've had a couple of days of very simple, low-key eating (and tough, tough walks and bike rides in this heat, makes me feel like I've hit a brick wall, ugh). Moderation, you know, ha - woo hoo! Mostly salads, although tonight I made a simple, garlicky, brothy shrimp sauce to toss with pasta. I sauteed spinach and ripe tomato as an optional add-in (we had both kids tonight, neither of whom would be thrilled to find wilted spinach in their pasta, ha) for John, Stacey, and me. Turned out light and so pretty, with pink shrimps, dark green spinach and fresh parsley, and red tomato, yum.

Tomorrow night, we're back on for a bit of part-ay-ing. John's partners Stu The Wine Genius, Bill, and Joe, with their wives Debbie, Karla, and Genie (respectively), are coming for a casual dinner. Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Tomatoes and Onion will be the main course, alongside creamy polenta and a medley of grilled vegetables. A nice tart for dessert, I think (can't get enough of summer fruit desserts, rarrr...) Looking forward to it!